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Talk:Manservant in the Mirror/@comment-3041875-20170808005935
The Good – So I didn’t really expect Jo (the writer) to kill off her own character (at least not before the series finale), though I would have been quite shocked and impressed if you had (see Observations for more on that). Despite any reservations though, I enjoyed Joe putting aside his grievances to concentrate on inspecting the body, using his detective skills and working out the truth. I was also intrigued by Joanna being a prisoner, so was happy to see where that went. It made sense Joe not being able to go to the police since it'd mean Joanna having to explain why she killed her twin sister (plus, the police are useless), and them going to Rena for help was always certain to be entertaining, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Rena answering the door late, wearing Jason's old suit, sitting on his pipe, breaking the vase and apologising for not ever giving Joe a wedding present, as well as Theresa adding to it all, was all just brilliant. He remains the most comical character, for sure, and it was a very well written scene, with Joe and Silvia still getting enough information to realise they had to check out Andrew's old home. I enjoyed the interaction between Joe and Val, and the bonding between Joe and Silvia, while the scene of him saving Joanna and the flashbacks were all pretty good, even if it felt a little easy (again, see: Observations). The scene of Nadia taunting Joanna in the freezer was a strong one, while Joanna tried to assure herself that she was just speaking to a vision and that none of it was real. In my last review, I commented on how I was enjoying the change of dynamic between Ben and Val, and I was glad we got more of that this episode (even if only for a scene). I enjoyed a lot the scene of Ben and Val at the hospital, where Val took Ben's hand for comfort, squeezing so hard she was hurting him, and Ben showing genuine concern for her. Ben's statement that he had too much self-respect to become friends with her but that they should be more civil made sense, as did him telling her he was going on a date, rather than ask her. There was a nice moment there between them, but Val's anger at Ben dating Theresa suited her character and was a strong way to start the episode's story. Obviously, Val immediately undid any bond that had formed between them by ruining his date. If she'd have been clever, she'd have made it look like a real emergency, because this way she's lost Ben's trust and won't be able to play that card again, so it was all pretty dumb of her. At least it perhaps showed to Ben that being civil with Val just isn't an option, and that he will need to fight to get the kids off her, which may be an interesting development to go off with. Liz claims that all couples go through the stage were sex is no long as exciting as it was, but it seems that's something that normally happens much later in a relationship. Nevertheless, it makes sense with the recent fighting they've gone through, and dominating appearing to Ali also makes sense, considering what little power she had during her marriage to Jorgio and how much she enjoyed having more power in season two. I wasn’t hoping for much with the S&M storyline, but it turned out well enough, so long as it's only a one episode thing, and doesn't drag out again like the previous seasons. Liz's confession to Ali made sense, about how inflicting pain on Ali would make her feel guilty after what Ali's endured. I'm glad she got it out in the open, and the mirroring against the scenes with Rena and Mary worked well, with it turning out to not be Mary's thing. I'm glad Rena had some integrity for once, not wanting to do the YouTube video, but again he had the least interesting story this week, and I'm becoming less invested in his relationship with Mary, as well as her character, as she just seemed pretty unemotive and unengaging this episode until she stood up to him against Nicole in the end, which was good to see. There was a very nice scene of Josh at the graveyard, and it marks a nice moment for him beginning to move on now, making the episode perhaps most notable to his character. His later scenes with Joanna were decent, and I enjoyed most the interactions at the party, such as the realisation that Josh has never spoken with Ali or Liz (though overall, the interactions didn’t compare to those at Silvia's party in 302). The Bad – There was nothing that I will consider bad yet, but there are things I have some reservations about, but it will depend on the explanations that we get later. Observations – Like I said, I didn’t truly think you'd kill Joanna off and the more I thought about it after reading the less likely it seemed. The first explanation that came to me at the end of last episode was that Nadia had kept the real Joanna's body and this was what Joe had found. Problem was, this seemed too absurd so I tried to dismiss it, after all, why would Nadia have preserved and kept the body if she thought it was Emilie's body? And, if she knew it was Joanna's body, then why would she wait so long before making an act? I'll try to not make judgment yet and hope you have good answers, but I feel it will be difficult to provide a satisfying explanation. It takes a way some from how good the ending was last episode obviously, and I'm unsure on what the point was since Joe immediately figured out the truth. Just for a shocking ending? Like Glenn and Daryl's fake deaths last season in Walking Dead, I really don't care for fake/misleading moments that serve only as a cliff-hanger, but I'll wait and see how things come together before passing judgment. While Joe realising that the body didn’t belong to his Joanna seemed pretty quick, so did the rescue of Joanna, and it also felt too easy. I'm confused as to why Nadia would leave the freezer in the basement where Joanna could be saved, but again, I'll wait for an explanation before passing judgment. Lastly, I'm not sure I want Val to die, but I'd be seriously disappointed if there were no consequences again to this cliff-hanger, considering Joanna survived death last episode and Val also collapsed at the end of last episode without any harm coming to her, so there better at least be consequences for the story or babies from this ending really. The Devious Butlers have also never failed to kill a victim before, so it'd be quite unimpressive if that's what happened this time. Bester Butler – Honestly, there was nothing that really stood out to me, though I enjoyed all the stories enough, but since Josh had probably the best moment at the graveyard and it marks quite a big moment for his character, I'll go with him. I enjoyed both Ben's and Joe's stories fine, and Ben had a very good first scene with Val, then Rena's character remained strong and comical, but his story this episode probably interested me the least, as has been the case for several episodes now, so I hopes that improves. I'm also beginning to have some doubts over Mary's character as she just came across so bland this episode, and it felt there really isn't anything to her, but hopefully that too will improve. Overall – I feel like I enjoyed this episode more than how it came across in the comment. I'm glad things picked up again with the Devious Butlers, and I'm very interested in Nadia's character, as well as looking forward to her next appearances. It was a good episode, and I pretty much enjoyed all the stories, though there just weren't many outstanding moments that stood out to me like in last episode. Season three still remains a very solid season, with a high consistently of quality in stories, and I'm sure once some things are explained and made clearer, I'll look back on this episode even more favourably.